Here We Go Again
by TheRealAmeliaPond
Summary: When Lily's into James, James is into other girls. Once James is into Lily, she's tired of his crap. When will they finally get it right?
1. Obsessed

**Hey my people! I know I'm a big liar, but I decided to make yet another story. This is my first James/Lily fic, so while i'm not gonna say no flames, i _am_ going to suggest that it would be much more helpful for you to simply tell me what you dislike (if you dislike anything). **

**Okay, here it goes!**

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**HERE WE GO AGAIN**

**Chapter One: Obsessed**

"Bubye, dolly," Caroline Evans said, kneeling down to kiss her daughter on top of her head. She pulled back and smiled at her. "You'll have a fantastic time."

"Thanks Mummy," Lily said, smiling and looking right back into her mother's green eyes, identical to her own. "I'll miss you."

"Oh, we'll miss you more, I guarantee it," Caroline said, looking very excited for her. "Take good care of Artemis; we bought her for you, so she had better come back with all her feathers. And promise to write every day. Or twice. And call if you need anything."

"Mum, there's no phones there," Lily said, amused. Her parents had yet to fully immerse themselves in the wizarding world and needed to be reminded of certain things at times.

"Oh, well then certainly write," she said quickly. "And take lots of pictures."

"I will," Lily assured her. Caroline gave Lily one final hug and then stood and stepped back, letting Lily's father say goodbye as well.

"You knock 'em dead, Peanut," Jack Evans said, smiling at his youngest daughter.

"Do you think I'll fit in?" Lily asked, unsure.

"Of course," he reassured her. "You're the best witch I know."

"I'm the only one you know," Lily laughed.

"See? You are the best I know," he smiled. "And you already know the Alohomomo spell, so you'll be miles ahead of the rest of the kids."

"Alohomora, Daddy," Lily corrected him with a giggle in her voice.

"Well, that is why _you_ are the witch, and I'm not," Jack said, recovering quickly. He checked his watch. "It's ten till eleven."

"Alright," Lily nodded, breathing in and out to calm her nerves. Jack kissed her on the forehead.

"We're so proud of you," he said, smiling at her, his brown eyes sparkling.

"Thank you, Daddy," Lily smiled. Jack took a few steps back, stopping beside Caroline.

"Petunia," Jack said, glancing over at his elder daughter, a very stiff looking young woman, four years Lily's senior, who was standing off to the side. She was wearing a very conservative uniform, standard issue at St. Genevieve Private School For Girls, complete with the itchy wool blazer, the foofy neck scarf (according to the St. Genevieve acceptance letter, ties were "highly unladylike"), the below-the-knee plaid wool skirt in black, white, and red, knee-highs and saddle shoes; her hair was half up, pulled back snugly into a clasp, her pin straight hair brown completely perfect, every hair in place. With Lily's bright red wavy hair, her t-shirt and cutoffs, and bright red Converse, the two couldn't have been more different. "Are you going to say goodbye to your sister?"

"Goodbye, Lily," she sighed disdainfully, as though every syllable was costing her a great deal of effort. "I hope you have a spectacular time at that freak school of yours."

"Petunia!" Caroline snipped, tired of Petunia's nonsense. "Would you care to muster up an ounce of civility?"

"Not particularly," Petunia sighed, crossing her arms over her chest.

Caroline rolled her eyes.

"Never you mind, Lily," Caroline said, pulling Lily's trunk up beside her as she put on her smile again. "Go on through the platform. We _all_ love you."

"Bye Mum," Lily said, stealing one last hug from her mother and father. "Bye Dad." She took a step back and looked Petunia, straight in the face. "Bye Petunia. I hope you enjoy St. Genevieve's."

Petunia pretended not to have heard.

Lily grabbed her trolley and smiled once more at her parents before running through the platform.

Emerging on the other side, Lily was amazed by all she saw, the most prominent feature being the enormous scarlet train on the track, large billows of black smoke issue from the smoke stack. She excitedly took in all that was around her, all the kids running around with owls and frogs and cats, casting harmless but mischievous charms. She checked her watch and discovered she had only five more minutes until the train left, so she decided to get on the train to find her own compartment.

She pushed her way through the thick crowd, towing her trunk and Artemis along behind her, finally reaching the train. She searched for a short time before discovering that all the compartments were currently occupied. Lily sighed uncomfortably. She despised being shy around strangers, too shy to just ask someone if she could share their compartment, but what could she really do about it?

Lily ended up walking back up and down the corridor for the next ten minutes, even after the Hogwarts Express had left Platform 9 ¾ . She wanted to shrivel up and die. How could she have thought coming here would be a good idea? Everyone else had magical parents, they would all know how things worked here. None of _them_ were stuck in the corridor, wandering around like a bumbling idiot.

"Oomph," Lily said, bumping into a mess of jet black ringlets as she turned a corner in the corridor. "Oh gosh, I'm sorry… are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," the girl said amicably, brushing her hair behind her ear. "You?"

The girl was a spot taller than Lily, with long black hair and hazel eyes. She was wearing a pair of very long jeans with the hem and the knees frayed, which, if she had been standing on her tip-toes, would have still easily covered her feet, a turquoise t-shirt, and a pair of flip-flops.

"I'm good," Lily said lamely, her shyness getting the better of her.

"I'm sorry about that, I'm such a klutz," the girl said, either not noticing or willfully ignoring how obviously nervous Lily was. "I can't go five seconds without knocking into something, or someone."

"Don't worry about it," Lily muttered, feeling very embarrassed.

"My name's Scarlett," the girl said, extending her hand out. "First year."

"Lily." Lily extended her hand out to shake Scarlett's. "First year too."

"Nice," Scarlett smiled, oozing some inexplicable quality that made her seems so calm and nonchalant, yet undeniably cool. "Hey, where's your compartment? I'll help you take your bags."

"Oh, you don't have to do that…" Lily said, desperate to keep the coolest girl she'd met yet from finding out that she was a completely inept moron.

"Nonsense, I insist," she said, taking Artemis's cage with the utmost care. "Where to?"

"Um…" Lily said, trying to come up with some feasible answer in the next three seconds and failing miserably. "I, uh…"

"You wanna share my compartment?" Scarlett said, anticipating Lily's predicament and kindly allowing her not to answer. "I mean, it's not entirely mine, I'm sharing it with my cousin and his best friend, but you're welcome to join us as well."

"Oh, I don't know…" Lily said, unsure which was more awkward: walking up and down the corridor alone and completely mortified or sitting in a compartment with two guys she'd never met and a girl she'd met only briefly.

"Well, I do," she insisted. "Come with me."

Lily simply followed, supposing that if she was awkward, being so with others was probably better than going it alone. She followed her for about two cars before they came to the right compartment.

"Hey, guess what I found?" Scarlett said jokingly, pulling the sliding glass door open. "You two, get off your lazy kiesters and help the lady with her luggage."

Two dark haired boys stood, each of them having sat opposite to each other, and took Artemis's cage and Lily's trunk. One was slightly taller, with sleek dark hair with an attitude that reminded Lily reminiscently of Scarlett's nonchalant elegance. The other was slightly shorter and had extremely messy black hair and hazel eyes, leading Lily to postulate that this one was Scarlett's cousin.

Once they were done with the luggage, Scarlett started the round of introductions.

"Lily, this is James Potter," Scarlett started off, confirming Lily's guesses about who was who, "my cousin. James, this is Lily…"

"Evans," Lily finished for her, feeling just a little bit of Scarlett's confidence rub off on her. She held out her hand to shake James's hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Same," James said, smiling sincerely.

"And Lily, this is Sirius Black," she said, gesturing to the other boy, "James's psychotic best friend."

"She loves me," Sirius said to her, smiling like he was letting her in on a secret of the universe and reaching out to shake her hand as well. "Nice to meet you Lily."

"Likewise," Lily said, feeling a little more at ease.

"See, you guys said I couldn't find one," Scarlett said in a taunting voice, plopping down on her bench.

"Find one what?" Lily asked, sitting down beside her. She was feeling a little wary about what Scarlett would say about what she was finding, such as a nerd search or a loser hunt.

"Another girl," Scarlett explained.

"She's been complaining all afternoon," James clarified for Lily. "She keeps saying that we're not talking about anything remotely relevant to society."

"Yeah, well personally, my version of the universe has a sun at the center of it," Scarlett said sarcastically. "Not a gigantic Quidditch game."

"What's Quidditch?" Lily asked. A mere moment after she asked, she wished she hadn't. James almost started choking on his drink, Sirius fell out of his seat in shock, and Scarlett jumped out of her seat, punching the air victoriously.

"Thank GOD!" Scarlett said ecstatically, hugging Lily. "I_ love_ you!"

"Why?" Lily asked, nonplussed. "What did I say?"

"You..." Sirius said, pointing at her with a shaking finger. "You don't… don't know about… _Quidditch_..."

"No, of course she doesn't, you angel you!" Scarlett said triumphantly, squeezing the life out of Lily with her bone-crushing hugs. "Thank god, someone who doesn't consider breathing secondary to Quidditch!"

"It _is_ secondary," James coughed, still trying to get the pumpkin juice out of his lungs. "You'd know that if you ever bothered to see a game, Scarlett."

"I've seen the game," Scarlett protested, finally relinquishing her grip on Lily, who was a pale blue from near-asphyxiation. "I've even played it. And it is cool, I admit it. I even have a Chudley Cannons t-shirt and matching poster. But nothing that I've seen can explain the fervor Quidditch inspires in the two of you prats."

"It's probably the same as football," Lily said, not thinking again. "My Dad and my guy cousins all go nuts over it."

"That's how you don't know about Quidditch..." Sirius said, a tone of dawning comprehension in his voice. She looked around and all three of them had the same 'ah… that suddenly makes more sense' expression on their faces.

"How?" Lily asked, nonplussed.

"Because you're Muggleborn," James said, as though it were painfully obvious.

"Pardon?" Lily asked, unsure if she should be defensive or not.

"It means your parents aren't magic," Scarlett explained in a more sensitive tone. "It's not derogatory or anything. It just totally explains why you don't know what Quidditch is, since it's a wizarding sport."

"Oh," Lily said, nodding. "How do you play Quidditch anyway?"

"Okay, I'm out," Scarlett said, standing up. "I'm gonna go chase down the Sweets Trolley."

"I'll come with you, my sweet," Sirius said in an exaggeratedly amorous voice.

"Oops, forget that, I'm gonna go barf," Scarlett said, repulsed by Sirius as she walked out of the compartment.

"What's up with them two?" Lily asked, as Sirius and Scarlett disappeared down the corridor.

"Scarlett, not a whole lot," James said, stretching his legs out on the now vacant bench. "But Sirius is convinced he's gonna marry her."

"At the ripe old age of eleven?" Lily asked.

"He's been convinced since the ripe old age of four," James said, rolling his eyes. "He announced his love on top of my mother's coffee table at our annual Christmas Party seven years ago and has never denied it since."

"Well," Lily said, feeling a bit more at ease and stretching out on her bench as well, "when I was four, I was in love with Tristan St. James."

"Who?" James asked.

"My former neighbor," Lily explained, twirling a lock of red hair around her finger. "That only lasted about three months, until I saw him picking his nose and eating his boogers."

"Oh well that certainly makes sense," James said, on the verge of laughter. "Can't build a whole life around a nose picker."

"That was my logic," Lily giggled. "So tell me about this Quidditch of yours."

"You really want to know?" James asked, sounding a little surprised as he turned on his seat to face her. "Even after seeing how crazy Scarlett gets over it?"

"Well, I can't say that I don't like it if I don't even know anything about it," Lily said simply, turning towards him as well. "So share."

"Alright," James said, leaning in towards the aisle as he pulled a handsome alder wand from the belt loop of his pants.

"Are you allowed to be using that?" Lily asked warily, pointing at it.

James smiled, laughing softly, and leaned in a little closer to Lily. For the first time, she noticed how warm his hazel eyes were, how his mischievous smile made her stomach drop, how fantastically good his shampoo or whatever he was wearing smelled.

"What are you, my mother?" he asked, grinning.

"No, thank god," Lily said, smiling as she joked around with him. "I'm just trying to make sure you don't, say, jinx off my eyebrows or something."

"Tantalizing idea, Evans," James joked. "But I assure you, even I don't have the power to jinx those off."

"Hey!" Lily said, affronted yet still having a good sense of humor. "Just show me how the game goes!"

"Fine," James said, laughing at her.

He conjured up a model Quidditch Pitch in the aisle of the compartment and proceeded to explain to Lily the ins and outs of Quidditch. Lily listened intently about each ball and its function and all the positions. Lily decided that she very much liked this Quidditch, and soon Lily and James were locked in an epic Quidditch battle, James having taught Lily how to control her team with her wand.

"Give in, you scallywag!" Lily said as her lead Chaser sped towards the goal posts.

"Scallywag?" James asked, confused. He took his eyes away from the game for a mere moment, allowing Lily's Chaser to score on his Keeper.

"Haha!" Lily announced triumphantly, as Lily's Seeker snatched the Snitch a moment later. "Scallywag is such a great word."

"Hey, no fair!" James said, standing up. "I want a rematch!"

"Not a chance," Lily said, standing up as well, but to further continue her victorious dance. "You're distracted by the word scallywag, and all it's gonna take for me to win again is to say it again at a crucial time."

"Then prove it!" James said.

"Never…" Lily said in a sing-song voice, grinning smugly and laughing as she finally stopped her dance.

She suddenly felt as though all the air had been sucked from the train. The aisle of the compartment was extremely narrow, and James and Lily were now both standing very close, their faces mere inches from each other. Lily simply stared into his face as he stared back, neither saying anything for a few very awkward moments.

"Hey," Scarlett said, coming back into the compartment and scaring the living daylights out of both Lily and James. "What have you two been up to?"

"Oh, uh…" James sputtered, sitting down immediately. "We were just playing Quidditch."

"Oh no…" Scarlett said uncertainly, sitting down next to Lily. "Tell me your not obsessed."

Lily glanced at James.

"I can't help it," she shrugged, smiling as she looked back at Scarlett. "I'm obsessed."

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**Did you like it? **

**If you did, the REVIEW! If you didn't, then REVIEW! If you just kinda liked it, REVIEW!**

**Oh, and I'll warn you that another update probably won't come for another week, and possibly longer. And in another warning, this story may not be very long. I will try to find _quality_ things to put in to make it longer, but I dunno how long it'll be even after that. **

**Anyway, peace, love and granola bars,**

**mmb**


	2. Wait

**Hey! Another chapter for the adoring fans! **

**Just a forwarning, it's probably rittled with mistakes and I apologize, but I really wanted to get this out for y'all. Tell me where they are and I'll fix them tomorrow.**

**mmb**

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**Chapter Two: Wait**

"It's getting dark," Scarlett said, looking out the window. "We should probably get changed."

"Sounds good to me," Sirius said, stretching out his arms and setting his hands at the back of his head, smiling at Scarlett.

"OUT!" Scarlett shouted, pointing out the door. James and Sirius both jumped, and scurried out like two scared little Chihuahuas with their tails between their legs. Scarlett then proceeded to close the blinds and the two pulled their trunks down.

"I hate uniforms," Scarlett said, eyeing her plaid skirt as she unearthed it from her mass of clothes, none of them showing any signs that they had entered the trunk folded.

"Not a big fan of folding things, eh?" Lily asked, amused.

"Nope," she said, not offended in the least. "The way I see it, even if I did fold them before packing them, I'm going to have to fold them again once I get to my dorm."

"That's true," Lily said, laying out her skirt and shirt in an orderly fashion.

"You're very neat," Scarlett observed.

"Yeah," Lily nodded, pulling out her Hogwarts tie and knee highs. "It's funny, I guess it's just because my mind is constantly going, thoughts shooting around in a million different directions. I guess I just like making things go in order when I can control them."

"Deep," Scarlett said, unzipping her jeans and pulling her skirt on.

The two got dressed and then proceeded to scrutinize themselves in the dark window which served as a makeshift mirror.

"Hmmm," Lily said, examining herself from every angle. "Not bad actually."

"Yeah, you're right," Scarlett said in awe. "It's actually kinda cool. Like, school girl chic."

"That's it," Lily said, grinning at her own reflection. "God, this so beats Petunia's uniform."

"Petunia?" Scarlett asked, confused.

At that moment, James and Sirius started banging on the door.

"Hurry up in there!" Sirius shouted through the door.

"It's not a fashion show, ladies!" James added.

Scarlett went to open the door.

"Here, your turn," Scarlett said, exiting the compartment.

"Aw, Scar…" Sirius said, looking mock-crestfallen. "Don't you wanna watch?"

"Lily, let's go!" Scarlett said, ignoring Sirius as Lily hurried out down the hallway. "Let's walk, 'kay? I feel like stretching my legs."

"Fine by me," Lily said, glancing at her inconspicuously. "Hey, if you don't mind my asking, what is this whole thing with you and Sirius?"

"What thing?" she asked.

"You know very well what thing," Lily said, smiling coyly. Scarlett smiled.

"There really isn't anything, to be honest," she explained. Lily scanned her face, fully expecting to see some sign that she was lying, some sign that she and him had this childhood sweetheart thing playing out, but surprisingly found none. "He's a really good friend. A really good friend. And as much as Sirius doesn't want to admit it, I think that's all he sees too."

"Really," I say sarcastically.

"I'm serious," she insists, smiling. "Sirius thinks I'm pretty, and that's what he thinks love is."

"What's what he thinks love is?" Lily asked.

"Attraction," she said simply. Lily didn't further push the issue.

"So tell me," Scarlett said, "who is Petunia?"

"My sister," Lily said, hoping to leave it at that.

"Oh, older or younger?" Scarlett asked, interested.

"Older," Lily said, trying to make it sound final.

"Oh," Scarlett said, obviously not catching on. "Is she on the train?"

"No," Lily said, "she's non-magic."

"Oh, right, you're Muggleborn," Scarlett said. "I keep forgetting."

"Yeah," Lily said, glad that Scarlett sounded as though she was about to change subject.

No such luck.

"What's it like having a sister?"

Lily sighed, wishing that she didn't have to talk about this.

"Uh… you know," she said, actually thinking about it. "I don't really know."

"What are you talking about?" Scarlett said incredulously. "You just said you have a sister."

"Well I technically do," Lily explained. "But she doesn't really treat me like a sister."

"How so?"

"Well," Lily said, trying to think of a polite way to spin it and failing. "She thinks I'm a freak and treats me like I'm carrying the plague."

"Oh," Scarlett said, taken a little aback.

"Maybe she's right," Lily said defeatedly. "I don't know. What I do know is, we used to be best friends and I used to look up to her. And now she won't even say a proper goodbye to me."

"She's not right," Scarlett said, with a very sure tone.

"Must be nice to be so sure."

"I'm not all the time," she said, glancing at Lily. "But I'm sure about this. No, Lily, you're not normal. None of us here are. But it's not like you're either normal or a freak. You can be C) none of the above."

Lily thought about what she'd said. With Petunia all there was normal or freak, black and white. And in turn, that's all Lily had seen as well. But now… now, it just made sense. There was a spectrum: black at one end and white at the other, with a whole sea of gray in between.

"We should probably head back to the compartment," Scarlett said, turning around.

As she walked back to the compartment with Scarlett, Lily enjoyed swimming in a sea of gray.

---

"God, I'm starving."

"You're _always _starving."

"But I'm especially starving right now."

"Whatever…"

Scarlett, Lily, James and Sirius were all standing in the Entrance Hall, waiting for McGonagall to come and take them all into the Great Hall.

"Scar, I'm serious," James said, holding his stomach.

"Someone need me?" Sirius said, perking up. He had been leaning up against the stone wall, his arms crossed over his chest, scanning the hall, taking the architecture and all the people. Lily didn't know quite how he achieved that look of haughty, nonchalant sophistication at the drop of a dime. She was almost half jealous.

"No Sirius, I was using the adjective, not your name," James said, never losing focus on the task at hand. "Scar, you have to share… sharing is caring, you know."

"Hah!" Scarlett scoffed. "You are _not_ getting anything out of me."

"Any what?" Lily asked.

"She always brings a Luna Bar with her, everywhere she goes," James said, desperately eyeing her pocket of her cloak.

"And he wants it," Scarlett explained. "James I'm gonna save it till tomorrow. They stopped selling them in Diagon Alley, and I'm trying to conserve."

"Scarlett, I'm hungry!" James begged getting down on his knees.

"No," Scarlett said without mercy.

"Scarlett Elise Potter!" James said, trying and failing to sound menacing.

"James Owen Potter!" Scarlett said, mocking James's tone from before.

"Sirius Nathaniel Black!" Sirius chimed in, smiling goofily.

"Wait until after the test, James," Scarlett said, losing patience with him. "There's a feast afterwards."

"Wait, what test?" Lily asked warily.

At that moment, a very tall older woman with her graying hair pulled back into a very tight bun emerged from the Great Hall, closing the door behind her. She looked extremely stern and no-nonsense, very clearly someone who was not to be messed with.

"Gather around! Gather around, First Years!" she announced clearly, gesturing for all of them to gather on the stairs. Lily, Scarlett, James, and Sirius congregated with the rest right where she wanted. "My name is Professor McGonagall, and I would like to welcome all of you to Hogwarts. The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room. There are four different houses, and they are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn you house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours."

She paused for a moment, letting everyone digest what she had said for a moment.

"Now, the Sorting Ceremony will commence in a few minutes. I suggest that you all make yourselves presentable, as it takes place in front of the rest of the school. I shall return in a few moments, and the Ceremony will begin. Please wait here quietly."

She returned to the Great Hall, and the Entrance Hall erupted in quiet chatter.

"The Sorting Ceremony is a test?" Lily asked frantically.

"According to my older brother, yeah," Scarlett said. "He wouldn't say much but from what he hinted at, it sounds like some kind of test."

Lily's whole chest felt like it was seizing from nerves. She wondered what sort of thing they would ask of her. True, she had mastered Alohomora, but that was a fairly simple spell and her neighbor, who incidentally turned out to be a witch (she discovered Lily was a witch as well after "accidentally" finding her Hogwarts letter), helped her a bunch, but they were probably expecting something more impressive. Lily bit her lip.

"What about the houses?" Lily asked, desperate to take her mind off the Sorting. "What's the story there?"

"Like she said, there's four: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin," Scarlett explained, counting them off on her fingers. "Ravenclaw is for really smart people, Hufflepuff is for hard workers, Gryffindor is brave people and Slytherin is supposed to be cunning."

"Supposed to be?" Lily asked.

"More dark wizards have come out of Slytherin than from any other house," James chipped in.

"Oh," Lily said. "Which one are you guys hoping for?"

"Gryffindor," Scarlett, James and Sirius all said in unison.

"Oh," Lily repeated. "I hope I am too then…"

"I bet you will," Scarlett said, narrowing her eyes as she looked at Lily. "You look like a Gryffindor to me."

Suddenly McGonagall reemerged from the Great Hall.

"The Sorting Ceremony will now begin," she announced. "Follow me."

Everyone shuffled down the aisle towards her. Lily was so nervous she barely noticed any of the older students watching them or the vast ceiling that displayed the clear night sky, speckled with stars, or Scarlett whispering in her ear a quick, "Good luck!" or even the Sorting Hat's song.

In fact, when McGonagall finally called "Evans, Lily!", both Scarlett and James (Sirius had already been Sorted into Gryffindor) had to give her a little push forward.

Lily stumbled on the first step, mostly thanks to certain people's eagerness to get her going, but she walked up the rest of the steps with ease and sat on the stool, her heart nearly pounding out of her chest.

"_Lily Evans, eh?" _said a voice inside her head. _"Seems to be very impressive. Talented too, I see… Pure of heart and loyal… hardworking… bright… even some bravery here, I see. How about… GRYFFINDOR!"_

Applause erupted along the Gryffindor table, and Lily happily hopped off the stool to join Sirius.

Scarlett and James were Sorted into Gryffindor as well, and following a short speech by Dumbledore—which James kept insisting was taking forever as his stomach growled loudly—the feast began. Lily was amazed; she'd never seen so much food in her life. There was steak, potatoes, ambrosia salad, chicken, corn and Caesar salad.

Afterwards they were all beyond tired, so, following the Head Girl—a curvy redhead with pretty blue eyes who just so happened to be a Gryffindor as well—they all made their way to the Gryffindor Tower. After informing them all of the password ("pickles") and showing all of them to their dormitories.

"Wow…" Lily said, looking around at the five four-poster beds. She spotted one next to a fairly large window through which she could see the lake they'd sailed across earlier. She ran, jumped and landed on it, sprawled out, belly down. "Scarlett! Grab that one," Lily added, her voice muffled in the sheets as she pointed to the bed on the opposite side of the window.

Scarlett ran, jumped and landed on her bed, although she landed much more gracefully than Lily.

"Got it!" she said, grinning.

Three other girls filed in behind them, looking around uncertainly. One was a girl with bright blond hair and blue eyes, a pretty Indian girl with bright brown eyes, and a girl with sandy brown hair and teal eyes.

"This one free?" the brunette asked, patting the bed on the other side of Scarlett.

"Yeah, course," Scarlett said, dragging her trunk to the foot of the bed she'd so ceremoniously claimed.

"Thanks," the brunette said, looking around the room appreciatively. "This room rocks."

"Doesn't it though?" Scarlett said, smiling as she sat crossed-legged on the duvet. "I'm Scarlett Potter, and that's Lily Evans."

"Nice to meet you both," she said, smiling cordially. "Emmeline Vance."

"Likewise," Lily smiled. She looked over at the Indian girl settling into the bed next to her. "Hey, what's your name?"

"Kumara Gite," she said softly. Lily could tell she was shy by nature.

"Lily Evans," Lily said, grinning. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you as well," Kumara said, smiling sheepishly. She went to get her trunk and was having some difficulty.

"Here, let me help," Lily said, pulling it along with her.

"Hey, I need help too," the blond girl said, goofily feigning weakness. "Somebody save me…"

"You poor thing," Lily joked, pulling her trunk over. "All better now?"

"Remarkably, yes," she said, smiling widely. "Thanks for your help, Lily Evans."

"Your welcome…"

"Alice Grey," she said, finishing Lily's sentence.

"Your welcome, Alice Grey," Lily giggled.

As all of them slowly changed into their pajamas and crawled into bed, Lily smiled to herself, feeling remarkably at home.

---

"Try this one."

"No, it's gross-looking."

"Try it!"

"I don't wanna…."

It was early December, and Lily and Scarlett were having a girl's night in while James and Sirius were "up to no good," in their own melodramatic words. Alice, Kumara and Emmeline were all down in the Common Room, so the two had the dorm to themselves. Scarlett's older brother, Mitch, had brought the two back sweets from his Hogsmeade trip, and Scarlett was trying to get Lily to eat a questionable-looking Bertie Bott's Bean.

"Never!" Lily protested, pushing Scarlett's bean-holding hand away from her.

"Fine," Scarlett sighed, tossing it over her shoulder as it landed with a light _tick_ on the flagged-stone floors.

"Hey did you finish McGonagall's essay?" Scarlett asked as Lily devoured a Pumpkin Pasty, her favorite try yet.

"Yeah," Lily said with her mouth full. "And no, you cannot copy it."

"Why not?" she asked desperately. "C'mon Lily I'm never gonna do anything that has to do with Transfiguration!"

"Oh really," Lily said sarcastically, knowing full-well how many careers Transfiguration became useful in. "What would that be?"

"I'm gonna steal Decarte's job," Scarlett said, grinning like she was a complete genius. Professor Decarte was the Divination Teacher who was widely considered to be the World's Biggest Crackpot.

"Hah!" Lily laughed.

"I'm serious! It's an easy job, just make up junk off the top of your head and say it's prophecy! That sounds like a sweet gig to me."

"Well, James has already tried to buy it off me, and I said no," Lily told her. "Just give it a shot."

Scarlett sat in silence for a moment, staring at Lily scrutinizingly.

"You have a thing for James, don't you?" Scarlett asked her in barely more than a whisper.

"What?" Lily sputtered, taken aback that she'd be so forward about it. "What brought that up?"

"That stupid, goofy grin you got on your face when you said his name," Scarlett said, pointing at Lily's face, which was still incidentally wearing the goofy grin.

"There's no grin…" Lily said rather weakly, only grinning bigger.

"Hah! There is!" Scarlett announced. "You _do_ like him!"

"So what if I do?" Lily said, slightly defensive.

"Oh Lil, don't be like that," Scarlett said, grinning. "It's okay. It's the James Potter charm."

"It has a name?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sure," she said, biting into a Licorice Wand. "James named it a couple weeks after school started."

"Okay, fine, I do," Lily admitted. Scarlett looked at her for a moment.

"Can I give you some advice?" Scarlett asked.

"Sure…" Lily said uncertainly.

"Don't tell him, if you were thinking about it," Scarlett said. "Not right now anyway." Lily nodded, but said nothing.

"It's not that he wouldn't like you, Lily," Scarlett said reassuringly. "Trust me, James would be more than lucky to have someone as beautiful and as smart as you. It's just…" she trailed off, looking for the right words. "He's just too immature right now. He's my cousin and I love him, but he's immature. He won't deal with it properly. Give it some time, wait until you guys are a little older."

"Okay," Lily said softly, nodding. "I will."

"Good," Scarlett said, smiling. "Okay, try this one now."

Later, after Scarlett had gone to sleep, Lily snuck down to the deserted Common Room, seating herself on the sofa, her legs tucked under her arms up against her chest as she stared into the fire. She thought about what Scarlett had said. She knew she didn't have any reason not to trust Scarlett and that she wouldn't say that to sabotage her, but she still really wanted to tell James. She wasn't even sure what for, she knew that he might not feel the same and she'd screw up her friendship with him. Or even if he did like her, what would they do about it? Lily's father had a strict "no-dating-until-you're-fifteen-rule", and while he'd probably never know, Lily would never break her promise to him. She just wanted to know, she supposed, if he felt the same.

Just then, James and Sirius attempted to sneak back in without anyone noticing. Lily decided to scare them a bit.

"_Fifty points from Gryffindor!"_ she shrieked in her very best impression of McGonagall. The two of them yelped like little girls and nearly jumped out of their skin. Lily proceeded to laugh her butt off.

"Geez, Lily…" Sirius said, panting from the shock. "You scared the bah-jesus out of me."

"Good, that has to come out some way, you know," Lily said jokingly.

"What are you still doing up?" James asked, sitting down next to her on the sofa.

"Couldn't sleep," she shrugged. "Scarlett's up there, snoring like a buzz saw."

"A what?" Sirius and James asked in unison.

"Never mind," Lily said. That sometimes reminded her of talking to her parents about wizarding stuff, that "What?". She found it entertaining. "She's snoring loudly."

"Oh," Sirius yawned. "Why didn't you just say that?"

Lily laughed.

"I'm going to bed," Sirius said, going up the stairs. "Night, James."

"Night, Sirius."

And then there were two.

"So how was being 'up to no good'?" she asked.

"Boring," James said. "Remus couldn't come with us."

"Remus?" Lily asked.

"He's the little sandy haired kid who sits behind me in Potions. Nice kid, but he was sick tonight."

"Aw," Lily said. "That sucks."

"Yeah, but oh well. He'll be better soon."

Lily looked into James's eyes. He looked so honest, so sincere. She rarely saw that James. He was always usually so cavalier, so 'throw-caution-to-the-wind-gosh-darn-the-consequences', but she really liked this James, when he wasn't acting brave or silly, he was just… a person.

"I better go to bed," Lily said, stopping herself before she said anything stupid. She got up and went to the stairs. "Night James."

"Night Lily."

Scarlett was right, Lily said to herself as she climbed the stairs. She should wait. Until he's ready.

Lily wondered when that would be.

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**Liked it? Then REVIEW! Even if you didn't like it REVIEW!**

**BTW if anyone didn't catch on, the two girls, Alice and Kumara are supposed to be Neville's and Parvati's mothers respectively. **

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	3. Suspicious

**Hey you guys! Missed me? **

**Well, the past two days of my life have been the crappiest yet. First, I failed my learner's permit test by ONE QUESTION in which I had the right answer originally but then erased, and now I have to return this coming Friday to hopefully pass. Then I find out from the guy I'm going out with that he's just not that into me (like the book :crickets: well excuse me for trying to add some humor to the situation... jk) and that he never really was. Ouch, right? And then I missed my haircut, which would've been fine on it's own, but it was kinda a "straw-that-breaks-the-camel's-back" situation, and plus I have a million split ends that need to be taken care of. **

**And when life gets me down, what do I do? No, I don't try to fix it, silly, I _write_. Lol. So it's to all of yours' benefit. **

**Okay I'm gonna forwarn you that this chapter is a little bit strange. I admit it myself. It's a little cryptic and slightly anticlimactic, but it's actually really important, and I like it so please try it out. I tried asking for a certain amount of reviews on my other story which went wonderfully, so I'm gonna try it on this one too. I want ten more reviews before another update. Cause you love me... and because I've had two really crappy days. :) Just think of it as five reviews for each crappy day.**

**Happy Reading.**

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**Chapter Three: Suspicious…**

_Two years later…_

"One," Scarlett said, looking straight at Lily with a giddy grin on her face.

"Two," Lily said, wearing the same grin as Scarlett.

"Three," the two said in unison, turning their heads to look out the window onto the street. The two scanned the people walking past until Lily spoke.

"One!" Lily announced, pointing at a little boy around the age of five, holding his mother's hand.

"Oh, come on!" Scarlett said indignantly. "What do you take me for, a pedophile?"

"Alright, alright…" Lily said, mock-frustrated as she wore a little smirk. "So that's a 'no' to Number One?"

"Lily!"

"Alright!" Lily laughed, turning to look out the window again.

The two were enjoying their very first trip to Hogsmeade by sitting in the Three Broomsticks, drinking butterbeers to keep the winter chill away while James, Sirius and Remus were off doing god only knew what (they had suspected that they were in Zonko's buying something immature like a woopie cushion that farted the alphabet, but they hadn't found them there). Scarlett and Lily had already hit all the cute little boutiques and Honeydukes, and were currently playing a game Lily had seen on a TV.

"Two," Lily said, pointing at a boy their age with blonde hair.

"Ech no," Scarlett said, repulsed, sticking her tongue out.

"What's wrong with him?" Lily asked incredulously, trying to understand Scarlett's hot guy reasoning process. "He's a good looking guy!"

"He's a blonde," Scarlett sighed, scrunching up her nose as she took a swig of butterbeer. "I don't like blond guys."

"So you like dark haired guys…" Lily said, smirking and raising an eyebrow. "Hmm, suspicious…"

"What is?" Scarlett said, a confused grin on her face.

"Oh, nothing," Lily said idly. "The evidence is just really piling up, that's all…"

Scarlett stuck her tongue out at Lily who laughed.

"Oh, three!" Lily said, pointing out the window at Sirius, who was being followed by James and Remus.

"Lily…" Scarlett said, eyeing her warningly.

"What?" Lily said, grinning mischievously. "He's number three! You know the rules, Scar. You rejected number one and two, so know you have to choose number three."

"You know what?" Scarlett said, sipping her butterbeer. "Forget it. I'm not gonna get married. I'll become one of those cat ladies."

"Hah," Lily laughed, as Sirius, James and Remus all entered the Three Broomsticks. "Personally I'd just take Sirius. He's far better looking than any cat I've seen."

"Shut up," Scarlett hissed under her breath as the three boys came up to the table. "Hey you guys…"

"Hey Scar," Sirius said, sitting down next to her like he was God's gift to women. Even in their three years at Hogwarts, Sirius was still convinced that he would marry Scarlett; in fact, Lily swore that his passion had gained a little intensity. As Remus and James sat down in the two vacant seats on either side of Lily, Sirius carefully inched his arm towards Scarlett's shoulders. "Mind if I put my arm around you?"

"Only if you want to loose it," Scarlett said, smiling sweetly. Sirius quickly recoiled his arm, but looked otherwise unabashed.

"So what have the three of you been up to?" Lily asked, glancing around at them.

"Nothing," they all said in unison. Lily and Scarlett exchanged a 'yeah right' look.

"Alright," Scarlett said in a voice that clearly said she didn't believe a word of it. She drained the last of her butterbeer, and set it down on the table with a _thunk_. "Okay, Lil, wanna go to Honeydukes?"

"Ech, no," Lily said, wrinkling up her nose. "We've already been there, Scar. I have enough sweets to last for at least two months."

"So?" she said as though that last comment was about as impertinent as a comment about farts or toenails. "You can always use more sweets."

"Says the girl who once spent the whole night throwing up after eating that entire chocolate ganache cake you swiped from the kitchens," Lily said with a smug little smile.

"Touché," she said, waving it off. "Okay so maybe there is a limit. But I'm not near mine." She stood. "So who's gonna join me?"

"I'm in," Remus said, standing as well. "I haven't been there yet."

"And if my beloved's going, then I'm going too," Sirius said, standing with a triumphant smile.

"Aw, Sirius…" Scarlett said as though she was touched, but Lily could see the side of her mouth turned up in a way that always meant that Scarlett was about to make a remark. "I never knew you felt that way… about Remus."

Lily and James snorted into their butterbeers so hard it nearly came out of their noses. Remus and Sirius immediately leapt away from each other, as though standing within three feet of each other would give the other patrons of the Three Broomsticks reason to believe that they were carrying on a homosexual love affair. It was always fun to see how quick Scarlett was verbally, using what they had affectionately coined as "scarcasm".

"Alright you two," she sighed, watching Sirius and Remus in their homophobic state. She grabbed the two by the backs of their shirt collar and began to drag them towards the door when she turned back around. "Oh James, coming? Or are you gonna accompany the Lilster?"

"Yes," Lily said, answering for him. "And Scarlett?"

"Yeah?"

"Never call me that again," Lily said with a smile on her face.

"Noted," Scarlett said, completely unfazed as she dragged the two out of the bar.

"So, Lily," James said, turning to look at Lily. Lily felt her heart's tempo jump up a few notches at the sound of her name on his lips. "Has she admitted it yet?"

"No," Lily sighed, rolling her eyes. "She's too damn stubborn for her own good. I know she does though."

"Yeah, but we all knew it before too," James said. "We gotta get a confession in order for the bet to work out in our favor."

"Well in our own defense, we still have a good three and a half before Remus wins," Lily said, sipping down some butterbeer.

"I know but still, we have to strategize," James said, and I can see the cogs turning in his head. "Here, let's take a walk. I think better when I'm strolling with a pretty lady."

Lily smiled, taking it in stride. During this year, James had become very flirtatious, or as flirtatious as a thirteen-year-old boy could be. Lily constantly tried to hide her excitement at the prospect that this could indicate her two-year-old crush was finally being reciprocated, but it was never any good. She'd waited too long and wanted it far too badly to simply be rational when she saw it start to come alive.

Lily paid for her butterbeer and the two exited the Three Broomsticks together, strolling down towards the Shrieking Shack. The lane was beautiful, like something out of a Christmas card. The trees were frosted with snow, and the ground—stretching far out into the depths of the forest—was a vast, pristine sea of crystalline snow, untouched by man and beast alike.

Lily cast a side glance at James, who was staring straight ahead, unaware of her gaze. He certainly was gorgeous: his dark hair was stuck up in about a million directions in the most adorable way, his hazel eyes just as warm and enticing as ever, and his smile debatably the most perfect thing Lily had ever seen.

"Alright," James said, breaking the silence and getting right down to business. He looked over at Lily. "So let's think up a game plan."

"Sounds good to me," she said, nodding. "I still say we have to wait."

"And why is that, Lily?" James asked, smiling at her bemusedly. She always suggested that.

"Because," she started off firmly, "we're thirteen. How many people at our age fall in love with each other?"

"You might want to take that up with Alice," James said jokingly. "She seems to fall in love once a week."

"Oh you know Alice," Lily said, waving that off. "Alice thinks that if you enjoy snogging something then it means you're in love."

"Point taken," James chuckled. "Alright, so say we wait. How long are we waiting and what do we do once the waiting period is over?"

"Well, I say we wait it out till…" Lily pondered just how long they ought to wait, "fifth year."

"Fifth year?!" James said incredulously. "You want us to wait a year and a half?"

"Yes, James, now if you're through with your panic attack then I might I continue?" Lily asked, sounding very diplomatic. James remained silent, which Lily took as a yes. "Okay then. I say we let them be until the beginning of fifth year, yes. That's when romance start to come into play. By then we'll all be pairing off, and it'll seem only natural that they will too. And if they need prodding together after that, then we'll deal with that when it happens. But I honestly don't think we're gonna need a whole logistical plan, that's why I entered this bet."

"Okay, it sounds _pretty_ solid," James said, still a little wary about the whole thing. "But say things don't go as planned. Any ideas on how we can prod them together?"

"There are a few simple things," Lily said in a very business-like tone. "There's a double dating plan I've cooked up. See, I'm not allowed to date until I'm fifteen, but my dad's likely to let me go if I have Scarlett with me, since she's been pre-approved by him. So I'll have Scarlett double date with me, and bring Sirius. It's not fool-proof or anything but the whole date atmosphere might get them into a romantic mood. And we could also try setting them up separately to make them both jealous. That would be perfect for the 6th year ball."

"The 6th year ball?" James inquired, a puzzled look on his face. "What's that?"

"Kumara heard from her older sister that there's this ball that only 6th years get to go to, and they hold it every year," Lily explained. "She says that Dumbledore does it for morale, since the 6th is the most difficult year. They hold it on New Year's and it's supposed to be a huge deal."

"A huge deal how?" James asked, stepping carefully down the steep hill.

"Apparently, it's a total couples dance," Lily said, sounding like an insider source for the _Daily Prophet_. "If you're not taking a date then you absolutely can't go for fear of ridicule. And apparently not going is even worse, so you absolutely have to come with a date."

"Right," James said, soaking in the information. "Oh hey, we're here."

The two stopped for a moment, gazing at the Shrieking Shack in the distance. It certainly wasn't the typical white picket fence, daisies in the window box, red door and blue shutters type of house, but it still held a kind of _je ne sais quoi_ for Lily.

"You seem extremely enchanted with a decrepit old house that no one wants," James noted, seeing the starry-eyed look in Lily's eyes.

"Well _now_ no one wants it," Lily said, rolling her eyes at James. "But imagine what it used to be. Imagine it with landscape and paint and a functioning roof. I bet it was beautiful back during it's prime."

"Maybe…" James said, using a tone Lily recognized immediately as being sated with appeasement.

"What?" Lily asked. "You don't believe me?"

"No, I believe you," James said, sounding convincing. "Really, I do. I just find it odd you'd take the time to see that."

"Why?" Lily asked, finding it odd that he found it odd.

"Because," James shrugged, putting his hands in the pockets of his snow jacket. "Most people just write things off. They see part of something and assume that's all there is to see. You don't."

James looked Lily right in the eye, and Lily thought she might just die on the spot. His hazel eyes, normally so warm and enticing behind his glasses (which, incidentally, Lily also found hot), were so striking and so piercing. It was as though at that moment nothing could be kept secret from him, as though those eyes could see right into her mind, leaving no emotion, thought, or desire hidden and safe.

"Well," Lily said, breaking their gaze almost instantly and glancing back at the house, "some things deserve a double take. Because a lot of the time, there _is_ more to them. Sometimes it's the things you least expect that have the most untapped beauty in them. Most people just don't take the time to see what's right in front of them."

James continued to stare at her for a few moments. Lily had changed so much since the first time they'd met. She was no longer a shy, awkward little kid, but into the confident little spitfire standing beside him. She was simply Lily, and there was no other way to describe her. She was an original, and there wasn't a person alive that was quite like her. And standing there, watching her stare so intently at that shack, James was only just realizing it.

"You're growing up, Lily dear," he said, his trademark James Potter smirk on his face, but his voice sincere. Lily chuckled.

"That's more than I can say for you," she joked, a huge grin on her face.

"Hey!" James said, sounding mock-offended. "That's not nice."

"You know I'm joking," Lily said, throwing out her lower lip in a pout. Maybe James didn't like her, but she had always known that it was ridiculously easy to make James feel bad. Sure enough, a moment later James groaned.

"You're evil," he said, giving her a hug in surrender. "You and that pout of yours…"

"Oh you love it," Lily said, secretly grinning into his chest. "You know you do."

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**Hmmmm... suspicious. Lol.**

**Hope you liked it. And PLEASE REVIEW! Remember, there has to be a total of 24 (fourteen plus ten) reviews for this before I update. So REVIEW!**

**And a big thanks to all my reviewers, and my good friend Chelsea. If you ever read this, hun, you really saved my ass today. Much love to you.**

**Love to you all.**

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	4. Making Out?

**Hey people! Another chapter here for you. **

**I think this is gonna be the first of about three chapters just in the fourth year. So yeah. Lol.**

**Please, ten reviews again!**

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**Chapter Four: Making Out?**

_One year later…_

"James, you big lummox, budge up!"

"Would you shut up! They'll hear!"

"They're not even out there yet, and I can't _breathe_! I think that's a little more pressing than our little spying mission!"

"Actually these 'spying missions' would be a lot easier if you and your big mouth did stop breathing!"

_Smack!_

"OUCH!"

"And you were worried about my big mouth…"

Lily and James were hiding out in one of those random wardrobe-y closets that seemed to be all over the place, the wardrobe in question being located right next to the portrait of the Fat Lady. They were currently engaged in a game of playful back-and-forth while they waited for Scarlett and Sirius. The two had gone out for a 'walk' about an hour ago and Lily, James and Remus had supposed they would be back right about now. Lily and James were convinced that Scarlett and Sirius were (hem, hem) 'up to no good', and that their end of the bet was very near to be fulfilled. Convinced that they simply had to know for sure, Lily and James had stowed away in the wardrobe and had been sitting in there for about a half an hour—Remus had wanted to come also, but after seeing how small the wardrobe was, he'd graciously allowed them to have the wardrobe while he waited in the common room for them—and there was still no sign of them through the tiny crack in the door.

She had never been quite this close to James before. It innerved her and thrilled her at the same time. This wardrobe was really too small for anything but about four coats and an umbrella, so they were basically smushed up against each other, but not in the romantic sense. The only upside was that she was close to James with an extremely convenient excuse, so close she could smell his intoxicating cologne.

"You know," James whispered, rubbing the back of his head, "that really hurt."

"That's what you get for making fun of me," Lily shot back, looking put out.

"The only reason I make fun of you is because it's so easy, Lil," James chuckled quietly. Even in the nearly completely darkness, Lily could make out that James Potter grin.

"It is _not_," Lily said stubbornly, forcing herself not to crack.

"Oh, Lily darling, you are terribly easy to tease because you take everything personally," James said, egging her on.

"Do _not_," Lily insisted.

It took her a few moments to realize that she'd just proven James's point. She heard him snort beside her.

"Shut up," she whispered, barely containing the grin on her face.

Just then, they heard steps on the stairs. After simultaneously whispering "Shh!" to each other, James and Lily turned their focus back to Sirius and Scarlett.

"…can't tell anyone about this, alright?" Scarlett's voice came, just as the top of her head came into view on the stairs.

"Alright, but why?" Sirius said confusedly, the two of them nearly to the top of the stairs. "What could happen?"

"I just don't want public scrutiny, okay?" Scarlett said in a negotiating sort of tone, stepping up on the landing. "It's easier if only the two of us know it."

"Aw… Scar…" Sirius said, trying sneakily to slide her hand in his.

Lily nudged James, who looked nearly as excited as herself.

Suddenly Scarlett's ears perked up to some noise.

"What's the matter, Love?" Sirius said.

"Shut up, Sirius," she said absent-mindedly, looking around for the source of the noise. Suddenly her eyes narrowed, stopping on their wardrobe.

"Shit," Lily whispered. An instant later, James clamped his hand down on her mouth.

Unfortunately, he'd silenced her too late: as soon as the words had exited Lily's mouth, Scarlett had sighed and begun to walk towards the wardrobe, and pulled it open.

"Nice job, Madam Sonorus Charm," James said to Lily, dejectedly trying to clamber out of the wardrobe. James was bent over—the wardrobe not tall enough to allow him to stand to his full height—with one foot on the edge of the cabinet and Lily, seeing an opportunity too enticing to pass up, aimed her foot at his backside and kicked, sending him sprawled across the flagged-stone floor and landing with a, "Oomphf!"

"I told you, it's not my mouth you have to worry about," Lily said in a sing-song voice, gracefully stepping out of the wardrobe with a 'neener-neener-neener' sort of smile.

"I've noticed," James said, still on his belly on the ground, his hands feeling around for his glasses.

"What are you guys doing?" Scarlett asked, sighing.

"Wearing James's manhood around my neck," Lily smiled.

"I meant what were you doing in the closet?" Scarlett said, raising an eyebrow with suspicion.

"Uh," James said, standing up and glancing at Lily, having forgotten their pre-prepared lie. Unfortunately Lily had forgotten as well.

"We were…" Lily said, thinking quick, "making out?"

"Lily!" Scarlett said indignantly.

"Fine!" Lily sighed. "We were spying."

"Why?"

"Well, Remus said that he thought you guys had both left separately, and we thought you'd left together," Lily said, a new lie popping into her head.

"And you couldn't wait for us inside?" Scarlett asked skeptically.

"No, because then you could have met up outside the portrait hole," Lily explained, BSing the whole thing like a pro. "The point of the bet was that you guys were together. If you just happened to show up at the same time then we'd never know who really won."

Scarlett looked at her scrutinizingly, biting her deep pink lip, like she was trying to decide whether to believe her or not.

"Which one did you bet on again?" Scarlett asked. Lily still wasn't sure if she believed her or not.

"That you left together," James chimed in. _Smart_ _move_, Lily thought. If it looked like they both had the same story, she'd be more likely to believe them.

A few more moments of silence passed.

"I guess you won then," Scarlett shrugged, entering the Common Room, Sirius, James and Lily following after them.

Without another word, Scarlett and Sirius went straight up their respective staircases, much to Lily and James's relief. If Scarlett had mentioned the bet to Remus, he might have accidentally spilled the beans about the real bet and then Remus and James would both be castrated with sandpaper and Lily would be shaved bald.

"So?" Remus asked, glancing from James and Lily to the staircases and back again from his seat on the sofa. "What happened?"

"I have no clue," James said nonplussed, plopping down in an armchair by the fire.

"Big surprise there," Lily said sarcastically.

"Oh what, like you know what was going on?" James asked indignantly.

"Isn't it obvious?" she asked as though Scarlett had just strung a huge banner across Gryffindor Tower, declaring their love.

"Obviously not, genius," James shot back. "Stop being so cryptic and just enlighten us, why don't you?"

"They were just making out!" Lily said as though it couldn't have been more obvious if Scarlett and Sirius had broken into a musical number, complete with choreographed dance, and sung it to them.

"How do you know that?" James asked doubtfully, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'll admit they were acting a little secretive, but you couldn't possibly say for sure that's what they were doing."

"Hold on, you have to fill me in," Remus said, completely lost.

The two quickly told the whole story.

"Wait, what _exactly_ did they say again?" Remus said, asking this for the third time.

"I told you, Scar said that they should keep it a secret," Lily started off again.

"Then Sirius asked why," James added.

"Then Scarlett said she didn't 'want public scrutiny' and that it would just be easier for only them to know," Lily finished, thinking intently as she twirled a red ringlet around her finger. "Whatever that means…"

"Well you seem to think it meant they had a heated make-out session," James said, turning in his seat to face her. "So let us in on the secret."

"It really wasn't the most important thing, what they said," Lily explained. "It was more about the body language."

"What body language?" both James and Remus asked simultaneously, though James sounded incredulous, whereas Remus sounded eager.

"Well, think about it," Lily said, sounding like a teacher who was trying to make the concept of 2+2 sound sensible to a five-year-old. "The evidence was kinda undeniable." She named each piece of evidence off on her fingers. "The attempt at handholding? Scarlett blushing? The fact that her lips were really red and possibly chapped?" James and Remus glanced at each other. "C'mon that wasn't so hard to figure out."

"Yeah well, we're not all girls, Lily. Personally the last thing I'm focused on is the state of my cousin's lips."

"Okay well at any rate we need to strategize." She looked at Remus with a 'vacate the room, eavesdropper' sort of stare.

"Fine, I'll leave," Remus said, getting up off his chair and going to the boys' staircase.

"Now," Lily said, looking back at James after Remus had completely gone up the stairs, "is the time to strategize."

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**Liked it? Didn't like it? I don't care! Review!**

**Love to you all!**

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	5. Hand The Poor Bloke His Balls Back

**Yay! Another chapter!**

**Okay, I want to give you all the speach that I gave my "The Fine Line" fans, the school year starts on Monday for me and I have a pretty difficult schedule this year (AP English Lang Comp, Fine Art Photography, Pre Calc G/T, AP US History, AP Spanish Lang and Chem) and therefore updates will probably not be as consistent or close together anymore. I will try to get an update a month, but I can't guarantee it. **

**Oh and I did this calling people out thing on The Fine Line and it worked pretty well and now I'm gonna use it on you guys. These are all the people who either have this story on their alert list or their favorites list but haven't reviewed: DrTaylor, LaughingManiac, Mr Muggles, Ruby89, awesome islanders, chezE122091, hermionefan199, hpfanatic, kmp101592, lilybookworm, A.Mess.Of.Flaws, Elizabeth Odessky, Ima Idiot's ex-sister, Phoenix Dreamer 55, SingingBird812, phoniex soup, taliapony. **

**So yeah, all you please review. And all of you who have previously reviewed, this isn't an out so you don't have to review! **

**Happy reading.**

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**Chapter 5: Hand The Poor Bloke His Balls Back **

"Alright, and _how_ exactly are we going to get them to be all lovey dovey again?"

"Well, Scarlett isn't exactly the most trusting person in the world when it comes to Sirius," Lily explained as they paced slowly down the halls. "So making her jealous will be the perfect way to tell if they really are together or not."

"And how are you planning on doing that?" James said bemusedly, as though he thought that she couldn't pull it off.

"Oh ye of little faith," Lily said with a mischievous grin. "The Yule Ball is approaching fast, and it's already starting to be like Noah's ark around here."

"Noah's what?"

"Never mind," Lily said quickly, stepping up onto the first step of a staircase. "The point is, people are starting to pair off like mad. And let's say I go with Sirius to the ball, and he's paying attention to someone else for a change. Scarlett will go completely nuts."

"Hmm, promising," James said slowly. "You really think she'll get that jealous?"

"Oh please," Lily scoffed. "She nearly burned a whole in Alice's forehead with that glare of hers yesterday when Alice so much as asked Sirius if she could borrow a quill. A fully fledged date will be enough to put her in bedlam, she'll be so crazy."

"Alright, I'm convinced," he said. "So how do we pull—oh, look who it is!"

Severus Snape had just appeared in their corridor, with an armful of tattered school books and a harried look on his face.

"Look, Lil, it's Snivellus!" James said in a taunting tone, his whole demeanor changing. He was standing taller, his tone of voice was different, and he was even walking different, like a strut. "Looks like he's been spending all his time in the library with his only friends: the books."

"James, don't…" Lily muttered as Severus tried to walk around them, only to have James block his path.

"Oh don't worry about him, it's not as if he's got any feelings," James responded cruelly.

"Why don't you and you're little Mudblood whore leave me the hell alone?" Severus muttered spitefully.

_Bam!_

Lily tried to stop him but he was too quick; James pulled out his wand and shot a spell at Severus, the force of which threw him against the wall.

"James!" Lily shrieked, rushing over to Severus, who looked a bit out of it, his dark, stringy hair falling into his face. "Here, you big oaf, help me get him to the Hospital Wing!"

"But Lily—" James started off indignantly.

"NOW!"

The two carried Severus up to the Hospital Wing and managed to leave him with Madam Pomfrey without getting interrogated as to how he had acquired these injuries. Once Madam Pomfrey had dismissed them, Lily took off, pulling James with her out of hearing range of Madam Pomfrey.

"James, what the _hell_ did you think you were doing?!" Lily snapped.

"Sticking up for you!" James shot back, annoyed that Lily was so angry with him when he was defending her.

"Oh really?!" she shouted sarcastically, mock-surprised. "James, the only one here who cares what that moron says is you! I certainly don't care!"

"Oh so, you _don't_ care that he called you a… a… that?" he asked her angrily.

"No!" Lily said, like that was the most preposterous thing she'd ever heard. "That fact is so far from the point, James! Besides he's an idiot! Who cares what he thinks?"

"I care!" James yelled. "I care if he calls you that! He can't just say that about you that and get away with it!"

"_Get away with it?!"_ she hissed at him. "You _started_ it! And then you wonder why he insults your friend?"

"I can't believe you're just gonna take it!" James said, like he couldn't quite understand what was going on. "And I really can't believe that you're mad at _me_ for defending your honor!"

"My _honor_ doesn't need defending!" Lily said spitefully, so angry with him that she was ready to curse him into oblivion. "And you know it! You just took this opportunity to get at Snape because you don't like him! And even if it had been a noble cause, you don't go around jinxing people! My god, James, grow up!"

She whirled around and took off, climbing flight after flight of stairs until she made it to the portrait of the Fat Lady. She breathlessly whispered the password ("pin-striped") and rushed up the girls' staircase, barging into the empty dorm and flinging herself belly-first onto her bed.

A couple minutes later, Lily heard the door open, followed by about twenty very soft, graceful paces and someone sitting down at the edge of her bed.

"Lil…" Scarlett said softly, trying to sound patient.

"No," Lily said, stopping her before she could say anything else. Her voice was muffle on account that her face was buried in her pillow. "Don't tell me I just made an idiot out of myself." Lily lifted her head and turned it to face Scarlett. "I already know."

"Lily," Scarlett said, smiling in spite of herself. "What was going through your head back there?"

"I don't know…" Lily said exasperatedly, hiding her face in her pillow again.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that it didn't have anything to do with Snape's well-deserved ass-kicking," Scarlett wagered.

"No, it did," Lily said, turning her head to look at her again.

"Oh, really?" Scarlett said, bemused, sounding like she didn't believe it for an instant. "Please justify that for me."

"It didn't have anything to do with Snape calling me a Mudblood, if that's what you're getting at," Lily explained, messy red curls spilling over her eyes. She brushed them out of her field of vision. "But the ass-kicking part is actually quite relevant."

"Oh come on, Lily," Scarlett said skeptically. "I was listening the whole thing, and it was the biggest load of crap I've ever seen."

"You little sneak," Lily said, grinning surprisedly at Scarlett. "You were eavesdropping?!"

"Oh please, I happened to be on the staircase above you as the two of you were fighting. You could hardly call it eavesdropping, as you were screaming at him at the top of your lungs," Scarlett said, rolling her eyes. "If I was eavesdropping, then so was everyone else in a five mile radius."

"Whatever," Lily said, burying her head back in the pillow, only to have it forcibly removed—by her hair—from the pillow by Scarlett. "Ahhhh... Scar, careful! I have a tender scalp!"

"That's not the only thing that'll be tender if you don't talk," Scarlett said ruthlessly.

"Fine!" Lily said, sitting up. She readjusted herself for a moment, leaning her back against the headboard on her bed and crossing her legs. "You wanna know the reason for my little conniption back there? It's the collective incensed-ness of four years of waiting! 'Just wait, Lily, he's too immature, wait till he's ready!' Crap! It's all crap! I've waited four years and for what?! An immature little baby!"

"Darling, you know him," Scarlett said calmingly. "You've known he's like this for four years."

"I know, Scar, but still!" Lily said, exasperated. "I was just starting to think, 'hey, maybe he's almost ready for this.' I was just beginning to see that maybe waiting really _was_ the right thing to do, because I was finally gonna get him. And then he goes and pulls this _crap_… and then it feels like I'm right back where I started. Like every Zonko's product and every stupid prank and every fake fart sound means I have to wait just a little bit longer. And I just wanna know… will he ever be ready?"

"Oh Lily," Scarlett said, hugging Lily comfortingly. "Darling, I don't know what to say besides the fact that I'm so sorry…"

"For what?" Lily asked, nonplussed, speaking into Scarlett's jet black hair.

"For telling you that," Scarlett said, sounding like she was internally kicking herself. "I should've just told you to move on, to pick someone else, to get on with you're life… instead here you are, three years later, doting over a still-immature idiot…"

"Scar, that's not your fault," Lily said, sitting up normally again. "I let myself get to invested in this. And now I don't really have any choice. I'm crazy for him, and I don't have much if any say in the matter." Lily smiled half-heartedly. "I have to wait till he's ready."

"Alright," Scarlett said, standing up. "Well, I dragged him by the ear back up to the Common Room and he's waiting down there to apologize."

"Aw, how nice," Lily said, smiling over-sweetly. "You're such a good friend."

"I know," Scarlett admitted, smiling back with the same goofy smile. "Now, go down there and hand the poor bloke his balls back."

---

Lily sheepishly took the steps down to the Common Room. She didn't really know how she was going to explain this to him. Of course, Scarlett would understand; she knew that Lily had this massive crush on James. But James didn't know that. And how was she supposed to give a plausible explanation for this when he didn't know and she couldn't tell him?

"James," she said to catch his attention. He was previously sitting on the sofa, the back of his head facing her as he looked into the fire, but once he heard her voice, he immediately turned around.

"Lily. I'm—"

"No wait," she said, cutting him off. She came around and sat down on the couch next to him. "Let me go first. You can beg for me to hand your balls back later."

"Alright," James said, looking a little brighter after he realized Lily wasn't still furiously mad at him.

"I'm sorry I got so mad at you," Lily sighed, looking down at her hands. "I know what you did was supposed to be a nice thing, something that friends do for each other. I really do appreciate the gesture. I still don't think it's right to go around jinxing people, but I'll give you a pass for this one."

"Oh god, thanks Lily," he said, relieved, wrapping her in a huge hug. "If you hadn't forgiven me, Scarlett said she was gonna string me up by my balls."

"Ha," Lily laughed, smiling as they pulled out of the hug. "You would've deserved it too."

"Hey, not nice!"

Then they simply sat there for a bit, enjoying the comfortable silence that people can only achieve with the people they trust the most.

Lily thought intently. Was he really ready for this? Was today really not as big a setback as she thought?

No, it was. She was sure of it. He wasn't ready for it, and if she rushed it, she'd never get him.

She wondered why on earth she did this to herself. Was it worth waiting for someone who might not ever be ready? Why didn't she just let go, find someone else who was ready and she didn't have to wait for?

"Well I've got a ton of homework to do," she said, breaking the silence. She stood gracefully and walked to the arm of the couch. "I'll see you later."

"Lily?" James asked as she made her way to the girls' staircase.

"Yeah?"

"We're okay, right?" he asked. "I mean, all is forgiven?"

Lily smiled. He said it so innocently, so sincerely, that she could scarcely imagine saying no. She knew even then, looking in James eyes, that she could never just walk away from this. At least not completely.

"All is forgiven."

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